


Skin of Stone

by villainsarebetter (darkling59)



Series: Monster Month [11]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Fusion, F/M, Fusion with Disney's Gargoyles, Gargoyle!Rumple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-07-16 20:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7283695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkling59/pseuds/villainsarebetter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After over a thousand years frozen in stone, the Dark One breaks free and flees to the world of humans where the Blue Fairy exiled his son. With gargoyles long-since vanished from the world, it will take a little help and a lot of luck to reunite them. Belle offers to help her strange new friend with his quest. (A Monster Month prompt fill.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Skin of Stone

_**Skin of Stone** _

**_Summary:_** After over a thousand years frozen in stone, the Dark One breaks free and flees to the world of humans where the Blue Fairy exiled his son. With gargoyles long-since vanished from the world, it will take a little help and a lot of luck to reunite them. Belle offers to help her strange new friend with his quest. (A Monster Month prompt fill.)

**Prompt:** @Anonymous:Okay so have you ever seen the older Disney cartoon called Gargoyles? I think it would be a pretty neat idea/crossover almost, if say Belle was Elisa, and Rumpel was Goliath? Like a one shot of how Belle discovers Rumpel as a stone statue atop of the clock tower in Storybrooke?

* * *

For thirteen hundred years, the gargoyle known as the Dark One remained imprisoned in the caverns beneath Avalon, bound to stone sleep by fairy magic. Crystals containing the essence of sunlight glittered from every corner of the chamber, throwing the stone ‘statue’ in the center into sharp relief.

The Dark One was a creature from myth and legends long past, a being born in a time of war and built for violence. He was roughly the same size as a human, but his hands and feet ended in wicked claws. His feet were more like those of a dog than a human; with elongated arches and only the forefoot touching the ground to support his weight – the heel was adorned with a wickedly sharp spur. His ears were pointed and a knobby ridge of horns on his forehead held back a shaggy shock of hair. His face held a hooked nose and a slight muzzle, but was oddly human, considering the rest of his body. He also had huge leathery wings protruding from his back with a wingspan twice as long as he was tall and a versatile, flexible tail trailing behind him.

However, it was his expression and posture that set his statue apart from any false carved gargoyle created by humans – The Dark One was frozen in a moment of fury and heartbreak; his head was thrown back and his eyes were clenched closed, mouth open in a silent scream that bared all of his teeth. His wings were extended impractically wide and vulnerable. It was the position he’d held for all of the long years of his imprisonment.

However, after thirteen centuries spent in stone, something changed. The barriers between dimensions flickered when the fae triplets known as the Sisters Weird entered the mortal plane following Puck and his manipulative antics amongst the humans. For a precious moment, the attention of the Dark Ones’ jailers was diverted and the constant bright sunlight flickered.

It was enough.

Rock shards exploded off of the Dark One in a hail of shrapnel that specifically targeted the crystals, shattering them and plunging the chamber into welcoming darkness.

As all gargoyles, the Dark One roared as he woke up, violently flapping his wings and lashing his tail in a burst of raw energy that shattered his stone shell and scattered the fragments far and wide, revealing greyish-green flesh beneath. It was only his quick thinking and magic that directed the shrapnel to the sun crystals to ensure his freedom.

However, as soon as the instinctive outburst was over, he collapsed to his knees, shoulders slumping and wings falling askew around him. He knew what had happened. He’d figured out the Blue Fairy’s plan when she tricked his son into trapping him, then betrayed Bae by banishing him to the future and sealing his father away.

For a long moment, the gargoyle crouched on the floor, trembling and trying not to give into his grief. His boy was gone. How long had he been imprisoned? Had his son…was he…?

No.

It did not bear thinking about.

The Dark One’s claws cut through the solid stone of the chamber’s floor as he silently vowed to find his son…and if it was too late, then he would exact bloody vengeance against the Blue Fairy and her kind instead.

But first, he needed to escape.

* * *

Belle wasn’t a fan of Storybrooke. Yes, she’d lived there her entire life, it was her home and as familiar as the back of her hand, but it was just _so small_. She wanted to explore the world and discover herself! Not settle down as a housewife at the age of thirty with the son of her father’s business partner. She didn’t even _like_ Gaston but everyone just assumed she’d go along with their plans for her life.

Well, too bad. She wasn’t going to do it. No matter what they said or did, she was her own person, capable of making her own decisions!

Unfortunately, she didn’t really have an alternative.

She had no savings to move or live anywhere else, her credentials were limited by what she could earn in Storybrooke (which wasn’t much), and all of her friends and family were quite happy to provide reasons for her to stay. As a very empathetic person (and a tad naïve), Belle rarely said no.

One day, Belle was walking down the main street of Storybrooke, a route she’d taken thousands upon thousands of times over the years, when she came across something different. New. Which was especially confusing because it looked very old.

There was a stone gargoyle crouched on the small library’s roof in the shadow of the town’s clock tower, huddled on all fours with its fangs bared and wings spread in a bestial, defensive pose. For someone who’d never seen the building before, it would have looked perfectly fine – just an extra ornament, a bit pretentious but understandable.

Except Belle knew that building backwards and forwards and that heavy, expensive antique was definitely _not_ supposed to be there.

Who put it there and why? _How_? It should have taken a crane and a lot of time to get it up there, which would have been the talk of the town. For that matter, the only one who could afford such a thing was the mayor and she would have announced it to the town first, possibly even thrown a party in honor of its arrival. (In such a small town, changing a public building was a newsworthy event.)

The curiosity was enough to pause Belle’s footsteps but not to stop her completely – after a moment, she hurried on her way to work at the county records office.

However, the gargoyle stuck in the back of her mind. Throughout the day as she was sorting, reading, and filing reports, her attention repeatedly wandered to the strange occurrence. It simply didn’t make _sense._

Night fell quickly in autumn Maine so Belle found herself walking home in the dark after work, fortified against the nip in the air with a cup of coffee and a thick coat. There were plenty of other people around but Belle didn’t do more than smile and exchange basic pleasantries with them.

As she passed the library with the mystery from this morning still fresh in her mind, she glanced up at the new addition, just to get a second look and reassure herself of its existence (no one else had seen it – but no one else had bothered to look up while passing the library.)

It was gone.

* * *

The Dark One escaped from Avalon just as the sun was lightening the eastern sky. The dimensional portal appeared over a large body of water with a thin dark line on the horizon the only sign of land. He could feel the impending daylight stiffening his skin and muscles, warning of the stone sleep to come and all he could do was fly as fast as he could towards the land, desperate to find shelter for the day. By the time he made it, his wing muscles ached horribly from the effort and dawn was so close that he could feel the tips of his claws already turning to stone.

He had no time to search for the nearest gargoyle clan, to take in the strange buildings below, or even to figure out where and when he’d emerged. There was one building that towered over the others, the closest thing to a vantage point in sight, and he landed on the safest part of its roof with a loud, clumsy _*thud*._

The sun caught him as he turned to check on its progress, freezing him in stone with his mouth open panting for breath and his wings sagging wide from exhaustion.

It was only after the last rays of sunlight faded from the sky the next day and he shook off his stone skin, refreshed for a new night, that he realized just how _wrong_ this new world felt.

The first thing he did was duck out of sight into the tower he’d been sheltering next to, knowing that humans tended to react badly to gargoyles in their villages. He fully expected an armed delegation to approach him and demand he leave or be killed by guardsmen…but nothing happened. He watched humans wandering around below his tower wearing strange clothes and holding odd devices, traveling in noisy covered carts without horses, and wandering in and out of buildings that looked like nothing he’d ever imagined.

None of them paused to look at where he’d slept out the day. It was as if they hadn’t even noticed the gargoyle in their midst.

None of them, except for one.

A female human stopped in front of the tower, looking up at where he’d been perched during the day and cocking her head in apparent confusion. To his surprise, there was no alarm or suspicion on her face – just open curiosity.

Perhaps that should have reassured the displaced gargoyle. Instead, it made him anxious.

Everything was so very _wrong._ It wasn’t just the cosmetic changes – he knew that kingdoms far away from his own must look very different and have access to different technologies – but these humans weren’t acting right. And he had yet to see a single gargoyle.

Confused and increasingly worried, the Dark One crouched inside of the tower, spying on the village through the slats of the window he’d broken open to get inside. When it seemed that most of the humans were gone and the streets were filled with darkness and silence, he took to the sky.

The cold night air should have been invigorating, the flight a celebration of his newfound freedom – but he barely noticed.

No matter how far or high he flew or how loud he howled, there was no response from other gargoyles. There were also no castles, no towers, no stone walls for protection…in fact, no sign of fighting at all. Nothing was familiar. Nothing made sense.

How would he ever locate Bae if he could not even figure out where _he_ was?

Tired and disheartened, the gargoyle returned to his tower at the end of the night, this time breaking through a door inside of it to find a more secure place to sleep – he didn’t want the human from yesterday to see him again. There was a large abandoned room at the bottom of a flight of stairs containing broken and abandoned furniture, all covered in a thick layer of dust. It was definitely not the sort of place most gargoyles would choose to sleep, and far from dignified, but it was safe. Judging by the mess, no one had been in there in years.

With that in mind, he secreted himself among the furniture and surrendered to the sun.

The very last thing he was expecting to find upon waking up in the evening was a visitor.

* * *

It was sadly simple to sneak into the library. Not only had Belle done it many times when she was younger, but no one expected the empty old building to be a target for thieves so there was next to no security. All Belle had to do was jiggle the rusted out lock on the back door a bit to jog it open and slip between the boards walling it over.

As she walked into the dark building, her flashlight played over the sad remnants of the main room which took up the entire ground level. Scattered, ragged pages littered the bare floor and the broken skeletons of old metal filing cabinets and wooden bookshelves were stacked up by the back wall. There was also a crooked and outdated wrap-around desk sitting at an angle next to the boarded over entrance. The entire place was covered in dust and dirt.

For a book lover like Belle, it was incredibly depressing. She remembered when the library had been open – she’d been just a child and her mother took her there every weekend to excitedly scramble through the children’s section. The building was bright and airy at the time - a friendly, welcoming place. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been enough funding for many books or repairs. Over time, it just fell apart.

Belle played her flashlight over the half-familiar surroundings, taking note of the dark shapes of miscellaneous furniture stored in lopsided piles by the back wall in the shadows. There were also a few doors that she knew from experience led to the levels above and an elevator that went below to the mines. However, for the moment, nostalgia ruled her actions. The final rays of daylight faded from the sky as she wandered over to where the children’s section used to be.

As the sun vanished beneath the horizon, unnoticed by the curious woman inside of the library, two glowing red eyes shot open, cracking through a stone shell.

A furious snarl accompanied by the sound of shattering stone and a * _whoosh!*_ like a sail snapping in the wind startled Belle so much that she whirled towards the shadows in the back, dropping her flashlight in the process. It rolled and bounced across the floor, coming to a stop with a gentle bump against a sharp claw. Its beam illuminated an inhuman foot and the very bottom of an oddly colored and shaped leg and ankle…And glinted off of the glowing eyes of a suddenly living gargoyle.

Belle stood frozen in shock and fear, her heart hammering in her chest as the hunched figure she hadn’t noticed in the shadows among the furniture shook off a rain of stone shards. Large wings mantled overhead as he stretched to his full height. She could hear a long tail lashing angrily, thumping against walls and decrepit furniture like that of an irritated cat.

All of the details only registered distantly – she was mesmerized by his glowing red eyes. A low snarl built in his throat, short fangs glinting in the reflection from her flashlight as he bared them.

He never once broke their staring contest. Belle didn’t know if that was a sign of aggression, dominance, or something else but as her confused mind scrambled to comprehend the situation, she vaguely remembered that you weren’t supposed to meet a dog’s eyes…but you _were_ supposed to meet a cat’s eyes. Weren’t you?

“This…this can’t be possible…” Her voice trembled and seemed to come from a great distance. “Gargoyles aren’t alive…they’re not _real_ …”

In the darkness lit only by the weak beam of her flashlight on the floor, she vaguely noticed his features contort. It couldn’t possibly be a sneer – maybe a snarl?

“E-easy ….” She tried, raising her hands in the universal sign for peace. How did someone handle a _gargoyle?_ “J-Just take it easy….” Her eyes fixed on the exit door on the other side of the room which she’d closed firmly so no one would guess she was trespassing. It was right next to him and even as she watched, his wing swooped to block it from her view. No one knew she was there – for the first time, she wished she’d taken up Ruby’s offer instead of indulging her curiosity. Her harsh breathing was loud in the quiet of the old building.

The gargoyle’s glowing eyes narrowed and the foot her light was resting on drew back just enough to kick it, sending it skittering back to Belle. She scooped it up in relief, playing the beam over the creature who grunted and raised a hand to shield his eyes.

“Oh, sorry!”

She got a low grunt in response, and to her surprise, he flicked his hand in a complicated gesture that culminated with a ball of light hovering over his head. Another gesture sent it towards the ceiling, illuminating part of the room. She clicked off her flashlight automatically, watching the gargoyle with wide-eyed amazement.

“Is that…magic?”

He said nothing, but the narrowing of his glowing red eyes was scornful. _Obviously_ it was magic.

The human nearly bristled, before remembering her circumstances and taking a deep breath instead. Surely, if he could do magic, he must be intelligent, right? “What are you doing here? Do you need help?”

To Belle’s surprise, the angry red glow of his glare faded, revealing a pair of suspicious, surprisingly human eyes. The gargoyle’s tail lashed but he didn’t move.

She tried to smile reassuringly

“You’ll help me?” The voice was rough and scratchy from disuse but it was the vaguely lost undertone and confusion that tugged at Belle’s heartstrings.

Also, _the gargoyle was talking._

“I’ll try.” Her tentative smile became a little more genuine. “What do you need?”

The gargoyle snorted, an animalistic sound that made Belle jump, and a flick of his claw split the ball of light into four smaller spheres that rose to circle above their heads, bathing the entire library in a soft glow. He ignored the way she flinched at his sharp movements.

“I need to find the nearest clan of gargoyles.” He demanded.

Belle knew many things; she loved research, had a healthy penchant for curiosity, and had always wanted to travel so she usually had a response when she was asked a question. But this time, her mind went completely blank. The guarded hope in the gargoyle’s expression as he waited expectantly for her answer made her feel bad that she had no idea what he was talking about.

His monstrous features fell in recognizable disappointment before rearranging into an emotionless mask as soon as she told him.

“Then you’re useless to me.” He hissed.

Belle’s heart rate – which had calmed – spiked abruptly but to her surprise, he turned his back on her and stalked towards the door to the clock tower.

“Wait!” She called, rushing after him. He didn’t turn around, forcing her to hurry up the creaky old stairs after him.

“If you won’t help me, I’ll find them myself.” He snapped. Belle noticed with fascination that his eyes were glowing again.

“I will help!” She insisted. “But you’re the first gargoyle – _real_ gargoyle, anyway – that I’ve ever seen.”

The creature scoffed. “Don’t be absurd. Every castle has a clan to protect it and every kingdom has a castle.”

Belle stopped in her tracks, completely taken aback. Sensing the change in her demeanor, the gargoyle paused and looked at her over his shoulder.

“Now what?” He snapped.

For a long moment, Belle couldn’t say anything, just stared at him trying to figure out how to break the news.

“What?” Unease crept into his tone as the silence grew awkward.

“There aren’t any kingdoms or castles.” Belle said as gently as he could. “There aren’t even any kings or lords in the United States. And I’ve never heard of real, living gargoyles before. Anywhere.”

“That’s. That’s not possible.” To her surprise, his wings suddenly folded tightly, the joints locking forward around his neck so the wings themselves acted as a sort of cape. She guessed it was a nervous gesture and felt her heart go out to him.

“I’m sorry.”

“What year is this?” His eyes weren’t glowing anymore, but they were desperate.

Confused by the turn, but willing to go with it, Belle shrugged. “2015.”

The gargoyle made a distressed sound and slumped into a sitting position on the stairs, head in his claws.

“Thirteen hundred years…she kept me there for over a _thousand_ years…Oh _Bae…_ ” He sounded so lost that Belle didn’t think twice before laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

* * *

“Thirteen hundred years?” The human girl’s voice was quiet, but so close to the gargoyle’s ear that he couldn’t help but hear it. He was still reeling so badly that he answered without thinking.

“I knew I was trapped there for a long time, but not _that_ long. And Bae…my _son…_ He’s all alone…” His voice broke on the last word. “Without any clans, how will I find him?” The hand on his arm squeezed in an attempt at comfort, but he barely felt it. His honesty was uncharacteristic – he trusted _no one -_ but he wasn’t really registering the other presence, just responding automatically.

“Is your son in Storybrooke?”

“Storybrooke?” His gaze turned to the human and he blinked, realizing what he’d done and trying to pull himself together enough to snarl and threaten her to silence on what he’d said.

She smiled at him in encouragement. “This town. Is he here? There can’t be that many gargoyles – maybe it will be easy to find him?”

She caught him off guard again, startling more honesty out of him. “I…I don’t know. Maybe? He should be within a few hundred miles. Another gargoyle would know if he’s here. I need to find a clan.”

“I understand.” Her eyes sparkled as she gestured, waving her hands enthusiastically. “Stone gargoyles aren’t that common in this country – maybe we can find sightings on the internet! If there are any other real gargoyles out there, I’m sure I’ll be able to find _something_ about them.”

She took in his stunned expression and smiled softly. “Don’t give up, Mr…er…”

“Rumpelstiltskin.”

“Mr. Rumpelstiltskin. I’m Belle. Don’t worry; I’ll help you.”

The Dark One – Rumpelstiltskin - looked up at the girl will ill-disguised hope. He’d never had much to do with humans, never been of high enough rank to mingle at rare inter-species events, but the gossip of his clan-leaders led him to believe the land bound-humans were snobbish, self-involved and treacherous. He’d been a timid, gullible creature when he’d learned that and taken it to heart, as he had all of the words given to him by his superiors. They’d been irrefutable law.

That was a long time ago.

A _very, very_ long time ago, as it turned out, and completely irrelevant now that all that was left of his superiors was so much ancient dust.

“You will?” His voice came out small and desperate, reminiscent of the runt he’d been before becoming the Dark One and he shook himself out of the instinctive state, drawing a suspicious mask to the forefront. “Why? What’s in it for you?”

“Nothing!” The girl put her hands up – she did that a lot, he’d noticed – but this time in irritation rather than fear. “I just want to help. You could be grateful, you know!”

“You must want _something._ ” He insisted. “Services are exchanged, not _given_. Nothing is ever free.”

Dawning lit her expression. “Oh! Is that…a…a…gargoyle thing?”

He didn’t correct her.

“In that case, maybe you could share your story with me? If you want to, of course.” She amended under his suspicious stare.

His story. One story from his past. Not very specific, easy enough to handle as a price…if she kept her end of the bargain. “And you will help me find other gargoyles.” His voice wavered. “And my son?”

“I’ll do my best.” She promised. “Just let me grab my laptop – can you keep your lights going?” He barely had enough time to cast a glance at the magical orbs hovering overhead and nod before she kept talking. “Maybe we can check news reports and buildings with ornamental stone gargoyles-.” She extended a hand and, slightly stunned by the deluge of words, Rumpelstiltskin automatically accepted it, letting her pull him to his feet. She didn’t even flinch. In fact, she never stopped talking, enthusiastic and reassuring as he marveled at the sight of her pale hand in his dark claws.

He came from a time of paranoia, magic, and violence. All things that seemed in opposition to the bright, generous woman in front of him – his first tangible connection to this place.

This wasn’t his time. This wasn’t his world. This wasn’t even his _species._

But maybe, just maybe, this world would be better than the last.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's my final prompt fill at the moment! Thank you so much to everyone who read, commented, and left kudos over the past few weeks - you guys really helped make this a fun experience. :D
> 
> Also, just a reminder that I'll be accepting prompts in these 11 'verses through Friday at my tumblr: http://villainsarebetter.tumblr.com/ask
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the fic! And please let me know what you think. :)


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